Research into trypophobia is limited. Among the first to study the fear were psychological scientists Arnold Wilkins and Geoff Cole of the University of Essex in Colchester, England. In a paper published in 2013, they presented the theory that many of the world’s most dangerous animals, such as alligators, crocodiles, snakes and poisonous fish, have clusters of bumps and holes on their skin. Perhaps the aversion could be some sort of innate flight-fight response to dangerous or poisonous animals?
University of Kent postgraduate researcher Tom Kupfer had a different notion. “Those images look to me like they would be perceived as cues to infectious disease or parasites,” said Kupfer, who studies the emotion of disgust and the role it plays in our daily lives. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this is actually a disorder based on disgust and disease avoidance.”